Eight bullet point summary of this article:

1.UM unlike UW has avoided taking any clear position on whether the pro-Palestinian encampment is unlawful ( In the face of UW's steadfast positions, the UW encampment has ended according to Winnipeg Free Press).

2.UW has said they are not negotiating with the student representatives of the encampment. Unlike UW, UM has not clearly stated whether they are negotiating with the student representatives  of the encampment, and to what extent UM will yield to their demands.

3.UM is evasive on whether  UM will fully acknowledge and enforce the prohibition in the Human Rights Code against discrimination on the basis of political belief (i.e. Zionism), such that Zionists can not be discriminated against.

4. UM may well  be influenced by the encampment to administer its $1 million Scholars at Risk bursary program in a strictly non-impartial manner, in favour of admitting Palestinians from Gaza who arrive in MB

5. UM may develop a new course in Palestinian history.

6. UM has rejected an outright boycott of exchange programs and collaborations with Israeli universities.

7. Benarroch has said that he believes in institutional neutrality but has violated this principle by allowing the UM Humanities Institute to fund a free lunch to augment a pro-Palestinian protest at city hall.

8.UM will be disclosing its investments by the fall.

On June 5, WJR wrote to the U of M after seeing a post on Instagram on June 1, by Students for Justice in Palestine (SJP) U of M entitled “Admin meeting Update.”

The WJR posed a series of questions about this post, and asked for the U of M for an update on the UM’s meeting with SJP by June 7.

It is to be noted that the UW administration has recently written to the WJR that there have been no negotiations with the “encampers”, but the UM has not explicitly said this. SJP posted on June 1 that "the university committed to ongoing dialogue and collaboration to address" their concerns. When asked by the WJR about this “dialogue and collaboration” specifically, the UM did not answer. While UW has clearly stated the encampment is unlawful UM continues to avoid taking any clear position on this issue.

UM did write in a statement shared with the WJR June 7, “UM encourages students to dismantle the encampment and continue dialogue and advocacy through the many avenues that are in place for meaningful student engagement.”

On an Instagram post by “decolonizeumanitoba”, the encampers wrote “The encampment will not be disassembled until the process to achieve our demands has begun and a timeline to implementing them has been provided.”

REJECTION OF ACADEMIC BOYCOTTS OF ISRAEL

On June 7, the UM replied to WJR noting it had issued a statement to student representatives of the encampment that day rejecting academic boycotts of Israel. “UM values international academic partnerships for their diversity and for the ways in which cross-collaborations between academics and students can enhance learning, spur innovation, and solve problems. As such, UM does not interfere in academics’ right to engage in international partnerships, nor do we maintain a “Restricted Foreign Universities” list or blanket policies surrounding a single nation. The only international partnership restrictions  UM upholds are those imposed by the federal government.”

This means that the U of M is for the first time on record that it rejects SJP’s demand that the U of M cease exchange programs with the Hebrew University of Jerusalem (An example of this is the Mishpatim law program, to introduce Canadian law students to Israel and its legal system by attending the Hebrew University of Jerusalem, launched in 2011 under the leadership of Dr. Bryan Schwartz, Asper Professor of International Law at U of M.)

COURSE RE: PALESTINIAN HISTORY

SJP has also called for the cancelling of Prof. Tami Jacoby’s political science course titled “the Arab-Israeli conflict"‘ as being bias. In its statement shared with the WJR June 7, the U of M appears to have denied SJP’s demand. SJP in a recent instagram post has also called for “the creation of a course on Palestinian history.” The U of M wrote on June 7 “Consistent with UM’s collegial academic governance structure, courses are developed and recommended by faculties and schools and subsequently approved by Senate. University departments offer courses in alignment with program needs and staffing. These include a number of courses that integrate aspects of Palestinian identity.”

In my view it is not clear from UM’s statement whether or not there will be in the future a new course developed on “Palestinian history.”

EMERGENCY $1 MILLION STUDENT BURSARY

In its post June 1 post on instagram SJP says it raised concerns about the UM $1 million emergency bursary which is available to students in financial distress due to international conflicts. The WJR asked if the UM made any commitments to the student representatives of the encampment in regard to this bursary and in particular relating to Palestinian students immigrating to Manitoba from Gaza, but this question was not specifically answered. The WJR also asked if Israeli students could also apply for this bursary but this was not answered.In its statement shared with the WJR on June 7, UM wrote “UM will continue to participate in the Scholars At Risk program. Scholars At Risk works to protect threatened scholars and promote academic freedom around the world.”

The UM has not indicated in their statement  whether the administration of this program (which could be used to fund Palestinian students from Gaza) will be done impartially or be influenced by pressures from the pro-Palestinian encampment. I would suspect the latter.

NEUTRALITY POLICY

In a statement of May 27, ( https://news.umanitoba.ca/president-commits-to-more-education-on-anti-racism/ )President Benarroch wrote in the aftermath of the Gem Newton speech at  U of M Rady School of Medicine that: "As President, I have felt it important that our university maintains neutrality about the complex geopolitical situations in Israel and Gaza.'

Yet, the U of M Institute of Humanities (which is not a separate legal entity but is an arm of the U of M itself) paid for a free lunch to augment a pro-Palestinian rally at City Hall on Feb 3. The WJR asked “how in the world could you say that this was the U of M maintaining "neutrality? The UM did not answer.

DEFINITION OF ANTI-PALESTINIAN RACISM AND DISCRIMINATION

The SJP instagram posted of June 1 indicates that it is demanding the UM adopt a "comprehensive definition of anti-Palestinian racism." The WJR asked how the UM  could adopts a definition of anti-Palestinian racism without adopting the IHRA definition of antisemitism, including its examples, which it so far has not done ? Additionally, ought not issues of discrimination be dealt with for all students and applied equally to all students?

The WJR also asked “Will U of M recognize that discrimination on the basis of political belief (i.e. Zionism, the belief in the right of the Jewish people to self-determination) or ethnicity (Jews) is contrary to the Manitoba Human Rights Code. As such, discrimination against Zionists or Jews and will not be practiced directly or indirectly for any purpose such as in regard to admission, hiring or promotion. This means the U of M will not allow discrimination against/ or marginalization of anyone who supports Israel’s right to exist, who affirms that Israel is a tenet of their Jewish identity, or who positively affirms their Jewish tradition. This will also mean that it will be impermissible now or in the future to use “diversity statements” in any way to select for or against anyone in the basis of ethnicity or political belief. In this way, we will ensure that EDI policies in the future will not be used in any way to negatively impact on the participation of Jews and/or Zionists in higher learning, as students or faculty.

In its statement to student representatives of the encampment shared with the WJR June 7, “UM agrees that harassment and discrimination have no place on our campuses as supported by our Office of Human Rights and Conflict Management and Respectful Work and Learning Environment (RWLE) policy. The RWLE policy addresses discrimination and harassment based on protected characteristics as outlined in the Manitoba Human Rights Code, including race, colour, national origin, ancestry or religion and other related characteristics.”

Note that in its statement above the UM does not specifically refer to political belief as a ground of discrimination, although the Human Rights Code does.UM is trying to fudge this.

The UM also wrote:

"Building on the EDI Task Force Report and Recommendations, the ongoing work of the Vice-Provost (Equity), and our institutional commitment to transparency, UM commits to:

1. Expand opportunities for education and dialogue:

a. UM will extend the work of the Listening, Learning and Leading series to provide a venue for listening to diverse perspectives without calling for resolution or agreement.

b. UM will make student leadership training available to a broad range of student leaders, including those elected to student unions, in areas including governance, inclusive community development, EDIA and anti-racism.

c. UM will continue to make anti-racism training available to students, faculty and staff."

DIVESTMENT FROM ISRAELI COMPANIES

SJP posted on Instagram on June 1 that in regards to Investment Policies and Divestment, "The university is working on a website to facilitate the disclosure of their investments." SJP has demanded UM divest from Israeli companies. The WJR on June 5 asked the UM why it had not been transparent and updated the community on this issue.

On June 7, UM shared in regard to “ Investment policy transparency:

a. UM will explore opportunities for community members to provide input and feedback on its Responsible Investment Policy.

b. UM commits to public disclosure of its investment holdings by Fall 2024.

c. UM commits to publish its first report under the UN Principles of Responsible Investment by Fall 2024."

UM encourages students to dismantle the encampment and continue dialogue and advocacy through the many avenues that are in place for meaningful student engagement. UM is committed to freedom of expression and to productive conversations with the diverse student community. We support students in sharing their perspectives in ways that do not disrupt the functioning of the university, and that maintain a welcoming and respectful campus and supportive learning environment for all community members."

LEGALLY BINDING DOCUMENT

In its Instagram post June 1,  SJP wrote it is seeking a "legally binding document or statement”  to hold  the university accountable  if it does not follow through on its promises once an agreement is reached. When asked specifically about this, the UM did not respond.